Source: Justin Casterline / Getty
The Purdue Boilermakers got a close win over Northwestern last night in overtime, 105-96.
The game did stir some controversy over the free throw discrepancy; the Boilermakers shot 46 free throws while the Wildcats only shot 8. During Thursday’s edition of The Ride With JMV, Purdue head coach Matt Painter joined, and spoke about how Zach Edey is the catalyst for that difference.
“It’s the way it is with him, that’s just the point of it. We had the number one free throw disparity, so when people make a big deal about it, you wave a flag like you don’t understand basketball. We had the number one free throw disparity last year in the country. 35 games…I haven’t looked this year where we are nationally, but we got to be one of the top 10 teams. It’s him…They can’t call everything, but he gets fouled every play. If you go on the letter of the law, he gets fouled on every single play almost.”
He also addressed complaining about free throw disparity in general.
“When a coach says ‘man, look at it, it’s 8 to 2.’ It’s really one of the dumbest comments you could make, because one team could foul 8 times and the other team could foul 2 times. It can happen, it doesn’t have to even up, but it’s the old myth in competitive basketball, then all of a sudden you see the refs even it up. Why do they have to even it up, if one team fouled 8 times and one team fouled two…It makes no sense when you say that, because when you go look at a game you’ve got to go look at each individual play.”
Some other topics JMV and Coach Painter touched on were:
- Northwestern point guard Boo Buie
- Purdue point guard Braden Smith, and the responsibility he has
- Purdue’s upcoming matchup against 6th-ranked Wisconsin
- Indiana High School Basketball
Next up for Coach Painter and the Boilermakers is a Sunday showdown against the 6th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers.
Listen to JMV’s full conversation with Coach Matt Painter down below, and tune into The Ride With JMV weekdays from 3-6pm on 93.5/107.5 The Fan!
